


check me out

by imstephtacular



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Drabble, Fluff, Fluffy, M/M, Oneshot, Student Liam, all the fluffy cute feels, librarian zayn, this was so fun to write ok, ziam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-04 18:51:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5344760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imstephtacular/pseuds/imstephtacular
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mondays at the library are slow and quiet for Zayn until Liam makes himself a regular visitor</p>
            </blockquote>





	check me out

**Author's Note:**

> I am on a ROLL with inspo these days  
> So here's a little drabble based LOOSELY on this prompt:
> 
> Imagine Person A of your OTP works at the library. Person B isn’t really into books or reading in general, but they’re there for some reason and they realize that A is really cute wow and start going more often and checking out massive amounts of books just to talk to A. A notices, and the two start talking more often. At one point, B checks out a book that A loves, and B actually goes home and reads it. They find that they enjoy it, and over time A and B start bonding over books and book recommendations.  
> Bonus if, at one point, B makes a flustered confession that they really only started going to the library to see A.

Monday afternoons were excruciatingly slow for librarians. Research papers that people saved for the weekend are past due and nobody is hunkering down for more projects this early in the week. Monday mornings are full of last-minute returns-- typically overdue-- but afternoons are a drag. Zayn usually busied himself with reshelving books and doing Sunday’s crossword puzzle. He put his pen down, removed his glasses, and stretched lazily, turning to the clock on the wall. 1:52. He sighed, and resumed his puzzle, barely noticing the popping sound of the door opening. 

“”Scuse me?” a voice interrupted Zayn trying to find a 5-letter word for discourse. 

“Mm?” he replied, mashing his lips together and fixing his glasses back on his face, peering up from behind his lenses.

“Looking for a book on, uh…” the guy towering over the desk stammered, “hypertension patho...physiology…?” His nose scrunched up towards his eyes and he flushed pink, shuffling his feet and shifting his backpack on his shoulders.

“Be with the science books, round the back of that shelf there,” Zayn motioned with his pencil eraser, nonchalantly sizing the confused student up while his back is turned. 

“Oh, right. Thanks. Right then.” He turned back to Zayn, nodded, and hitched his backpack once more before walking in the other direction. 

Hypertension pathophysiology, Zayn thought passively, and returned to his puzzle.

***

Monday afternoons were still excruciatingly slow, but they became a regular visitation time for Liam Payne, whose name Zayn learned when he checked out a stack of books midway into the semester. Zayn also learned that Liam was a sports medicine major minoring in strength and conditioning. Of course Zayn didn’t ask, but Liam was happy to let his awkward excitement bubble over in their brief, but consistent conversations on Mondays around 2:00. 

Zayn came to expect the door opening and carrying in a hulking schoolboy with a load of books and an adorable backpack slung over his shoulder. What he didn’t expect is actually falling for the kid.

Liam wasn’t Zayn’s type. At all. A former jock studying to work with and around jocks who spends hours in the library only out of necessity, not the pure enjoyment of being surrounded by the smell and feel and atmosphere of books. But there was something sweet about him, something gentle and innocent and, aside from looking and acting a little like a meathead, Liam wasn’t like “not Zayn’s type” at all. The more afternoons they spent talking, silly small talk at first, developing into short discussions about music and movies-- never books-- the more Zayn began to see that he was in trouble and that Liam Payne was the source of it.

***

“Afternoon, mate,” Liam chirped one Monday, placing a nutrition textbook on the countertop to be checked back in. 

“Afternoon,” Zayn murmured, a smile tugging up the corner of his lip. “Bit early in the week to be so cheery, yeah?” Zayn was a happy guy, mostly, and Mondays were quiet, and yeah, they had gotten better since Liam had become a regular patron, but he had never been in a great mood this early in the week. 

“Well, thanks to you, I aced my anatomy midterm,” Liam announced. 

“Me?” Zayn quirked his eyebrow and removed his glasses.

“Yeah, well, coming to the library every week and all that. I feel like I should thank you, in some way, I guess, yeah,” Liam began rambling. “Never liked the library much. Coming every week though, chatting with you, makes it not so bad, yeah?” Liam’s cheeks pinked and Zayn let the begging smile finally grace his lips.

“Then you’re welcome, I think,” he replied simply, moving to scan the book back into the system, keeping his voice and heartbeat level. He could see Liam shuffling his feet and twisting his fingertips even with his eyes cast downward. Liam cleared his throat and Zayn raised his attention, finally allowing himself to drown in the flickers of hazel highlighting Liam’s chocolate eyes. They held each other’s gaze for just a beat too long and Zayn broke the moment, asking, “anything else I can help you with today?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he mentally punched himself in the gut. 

“Er, well,” Liam mumbled, “I was actually wondering if you were...free? Tonight? Or...or tomorrow or...whatever, any other night, really?” 

“Are you asking me out?” Zayn tried, hoping to sound disinterested, but not rude. From the look on Liam’s face, he knew he sounded like a bad combination of both and worse. Zayn screwed his face into something nicer and bit the inside of his cheek. “I...sorry, yes. I…” and now he’s stuttering just like Liam and-- GODS!-- what a pair they were. Zayn breathed out, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose, and gently reached out to steady Liam’s shaking hand. “Tonight would be lovely,” he heard himself say and watched as Liam’s eyes slowly lit again and saw the hitch in Liam’s chest. 

“Okay then,” Liam managed, nodding excessively. “Er, when you get out here?”

“Seven.”

“Seven then.”

***

Zayn worked the library’s closing shift on weekdays, which ended at seven on Mondays. Most people were already packed up and out the door before 6:30 so Zayn had thirty long, lonesome minutes to be exceedingly nitpicky about what he was wearing, how he looked, and the endless possibilities that lay in the evening ahead. He typically never allowed himself to be vain or even remotely personal at work, but today he snuck into the bathroom and made sure his hair stuck out in just the right, few places and that his glasses fell precisely on the bridge of his nose where he had earned a permanent dent. He smoothed his cardigan down for the twelfth time, at least, and tapped his heels together twice-- an old ritual of his for firsts. 

He returned to the front desk and picked up the book he had been reading earlier, but couldn’t focus on the complex characters and floral language for longer than two minutes at a time. Sighing, he laid the book in front of him and painstakingly watched the clock. 

At 6:58, Zayn grabbed his ring of keys and went about locking up the doors throughout the building. When he reached the front door, Liam’s cherub faced greeted him. Zayn jangled the keys, signaling that he needed to finish locking up then he would be ready, but Liam shook his head and mouthed “I’ll come in.” Zayn shrugged and pushed the door out for him. Liam strode inside and crossed the threshold, setting off the alarm system. “Oops, so sorry, mate!” Liam threw up his hands. Zayn grinned and mumbled that it was okay, triggering the switch on the wall that silenced the noise and alleviated the flashing lights. 

“You quite know how to make an entrance,” he mused, earning a blush from Liam. “How’d you do that, anyways? Overdue book hiding under your shirt?” 

Liam waved the question away. “Probably. Sounds like something I’d do,” he smirked. He wasn’t carrying a backpack, which left Zayn to wonder just how he really did do it, but Zayn was too mesmerized by the laugh that matched his schoolboy grin to care about it anymore. “Brought you something, hang on.” Liam swiveled and reached into his back pocket. He produced a single, simple, ballpoint pen and handed it to Zayn. “For your puzzles,” he said simply, chewing at his lip in anticipation.

“Oh,” Zayn said, genuinely surprised and genuinely tickled literally pink. “Thanks. Thanks so much,” he managed. “I’ll definitely put this to good use.” He knew he sounded lame. He was usually spectacular with his words, but this Liam Payne was making him lose his abilities and Zayn hated and loved it in equal measure. He placed the pen gingerly on the desk, knowing he would be the first one back in the morning for the opening shift, and turned back to Liam, clasping his hands at his waist, attempting to seem casual. “So where are we off to?” 

“Well, I was honestly thinking we could...stay here for a bit? Just to start, though.” Zayn raised his brow and let Liam stammer an explanation. “It’s just, I’ve never been one for libraries and this one is real nice and I only ever spend time here by myself and I know you spend a lot more time here than I do and I was thinking you could, like...show me around?” His words came out in a nervous flurry and Zayn was powerless at biting back a smile. 

“I think that can be arranged,” he replied, motioning for Liam to follow his lead. Zayn told Liam everything he could about the library-- the exciting bits, at least. Liam didn’t strike him as the history-loving type so he went easy on the boring details, but he spun tales of bizarre people and events that he had experienced in his three years working there. He told Liam about the old man who used to come in and set up an elaborate aquarium in the corner by the reference desk and invite all the kids to come watch his fish swim around for hours on end. Eventually they had to ask him to leave because of health code violations and Zayn honestly missed the strangeness of that. He also told Liam about the time he found a little girl wedged up onto a high shelf near the periodicals and had to call the fire department to get her removed. Liam listened to his stories in awe; he laughed, he asked questions, and he occasionally reached out to touch Zayn’s arm in disbelief. Once they had toured the entire bottom floor, Zayn led Liam up the back stairs to the employee lounge so they could sit and chat some more. “I can make coffee, tea, anything you’d like,” Zayn offered, flicking on the lights inside and closing the door behind them. 

“Wow, and I thought I was in control of this date,” Liam joked. 

“Oh, well…” Zayn muttered, suddenly feeling bad for hijacking whatever Liam had planned.

“No, no, it’s okay. It’s fine,” Liam assured him. “Really.” He placed his hand gently over Zayn’s and gazed into his eyes. It took everything in Zayn not to blink or look away; Liam’s eyes were dark and dusty as cinnamon and they made him feel at ease, at home. “This is nice. Nicer even than what I had planned.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he finally looked away. “Coffee would be good. Yeah.” 

Zayn relaxed and went about preparing a fresh pot. As he puttered around the small kitchen, Liam pulled a chair up to the table. “I get it now.” 

“Mm?” Zayn turned briefly and looked at Liam for clarification. 

“The library. I get it. Why people-- why you love it.”

“Why’s that?” Zayn asked, immensely curious. He kept his back to Liam as he rummaged for mugs and sugar and bit his lip in suspense.

“It’s like this whole other world, in here,” Liam began. Zayn could tell he was about to get animated in the childlike way he sometimes saw him get. “Like. Here, I’m not just a student. I’m not just a former jock, a gym rat, some dude who likes being fit. It’s like I can be anyone I want to be here and nobody judges me.”

Zayn turned slowly, placing a steaming cup in front of Liam and joined him at the table. He was careful not to interject and, scooting closer, let Liam continue.

“That probably sounds loads cheesy, yeah, but...it’s true,” Liam flushed. “Like, yeah, I’m still that guy, I still like all the things I like, but when I’m in here, I’m not labeled, y’know? I can talk to you, not even about sports and stuff, like I do with my other mates, but I can stand at the front desk and talk to you, Zayn,” and Zayn glows for a moment, “about real things and I feel like I’m somebody else when I’m here, when...I’m with...you. Wow that was awfully cheesy and I’m sorry if I…”

“Hey, no. Don’t apologize,” Za interrupted, knocking their mugs together lightly. “That was all real...nice. I like that. I like that the library has worked its magic on you.” Now Zayn was the one being cheesy and for once, he didn’t give a damn.

“Okay, that was cheesy too,” Liam smiled, kicking gently at Zayn’s leg underneath the table. “Is this what the library does to people? Makes them mushy gits who say things like this?”

“Oh, didn’t anyone warn you?” Zayn beamed suddenly, nudging him back with his foot. 

“Nope. Not a one. Guess some guys gotta figure things out on their own.”

A few moments of silence, wonderful, easy silence, passed between them as they sipped their coffee and settled into each other’s company. Zayn cleared his throat, leaning back a bit in his chair, and focused his eyes on Liam’s broad, soft-looking chest. He suddenly had the urge to lay his head there and quickly shook his head to clear the thought. “Alright, favorite book. I have to know now.” He noticed Liam tensing a bit and began again. “Doesn’t matter what it is, no judgment. I swear.”

Liam took a minutes before responding, choosing his words carefully. He opened his mouth to speak three times before actually replying. “Alright, but you can’t laugh.” He waited for Zayn to nod in agreement and finally said, “The BFG.”

“As in The Big Friendly Giant?”

“Yeah, that one,” Liam answered quietly, wedging his bottom lip fiercely between his teeth. 

“That, mate, is wicked cool,” Zayn admitted, secretly turning cartwheels because Liam-- hulking, dopey, smiling, sexy Liam Payne-- was a nerd just like him. 

“You think?”

“I know. Is one of my favorites, too,” Zayn admitted, leaning over his mug and peering up at Liam through his thick lashes.

“Yeah, my mum read it to me when I was a kid and, like, I don’t read that much anymore now, aside from comics, but that one was one I really liked. I would always ask her to read it, even though she’d read it like a hundred times.” Liam’s confidence was building again and the animation was reappearing and Zayn smiled deep in his bones. 

“My mum was the same way. But it was all mostly fairytales when I was young,” Zayn colored, honestly surprised he admitted these secrets, but oddly at ease now that he knew Liam was more like him than he realized. “Then I moved on to other stuff. Novels and such.” He paused, tapping his fingers on the table. “Comics, too, though. Those make the cut, too,” he added, wanting to sustain the connection and not isolate Liam with his taste in romantic epics and obscure poetry. 

“Cool,” Liam replied simply, draining the rest of his mug in one long sip. As he set the mug down, a stray droplet of coffee dribbled down his lip and he rushed to wipe it away, turning instantly rose-colored. 

Zayn only laughed and slowly leaned toward him. “Let me,” he whispered, cupping Liam’s face in his delicate hands and placing a chaste kiss on Liam’s warm lips. Liam was momentarily surprised, but quickly relaxed into the kiss and returned it with more force, shoving his hands into Zayn’s perfectly mussed hair and pressing Zayn’s back into the table. Zayn grunted mildly and Liam smirked through the kiss and pulled him closer. Zayn smiled into the kiss as well and continued deeper. Liam finally pulled away moments later, resting his forehead against Zayn’s. 

“Can I tell you something?” he murmured. 

“Sure,” Zayn finally exhaled, his gaze cast down taking in Liam’s chest up close. 

Liam gently nudged Zayn’s chin upwards to align their eyes. “I don’t actually have as much work as you probably think...er, what I mean is...I mainly just come to the library every week to check you out.” His eyes creased and Zayn couldn’t help but smother his lips again. He knew he should say something, anything, use his beautiful gift of prose, but he honestly wanted to taste more of Liam than words in that moment. 

“I’ll take that as you being okay with it,” Liam chuckled, briefly breaking away.

Zayn smiled slowly. “You can come check me out anytime, babe.”

Liam laughed, full and hearty. “They should put that on a t-shirt, sell it here, promote the library. Who could I talk to about that?” Liam gave him a cheeky grin.

“I’ll get back to you on that,” Zayn grinned right back. “Now, shh, we’re in a library,” he hushed, crushing Liam’s mouth with his own, and pulling them into a long bout of silence.


End file.
